Profile of the Day: Julie Andrews

Posted October 1, 2020 by Amanda | No Comment

Happy birthday to Julie Andrews! Today the actress turns 85.

Image: Julie Andrews / Eva Rinaldi, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Sound of Music star was born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1, 1935 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. Her mother and stepfather were both performers and as a child, she occasionally joined them on stage. She later adopted her stepfather’s surname, Andrews.

After finding work on the London stage, Andrews moved to the U.S. In 1956, she appeared on Broadway in My Fair Lady, starring as Eliza Doolittle, and received her first Tony Award nomination for her performance. Although the decision to replace her with Audrey Hepburn in the musical’s film adaptation was seen as controversial, the change led Andrews to star in another Hollywood classic, Mary Poppins. Andrews would go on to win her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as the magical British nanny. A year later, Andrews starred in The Sound of Music and earned a second Academy Award nomination. In 1982, she received her third Oscar nomination for her performance in Victor/Victoria.

What’s your favorite Julie Andrews movie?

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